The African Athletics Championships scheduled for Lagos at the end of this month have been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event was scheduled to hold from June 23 to June 27 after Nigeria had stepped in at the last moment to replace Algeria as hosts. However, the Nigerian government has announced that the country cannot host such an event due to COVID-19 concerns.
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The Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) released a statement on Tuesday: “It is with great regret that we announce the cancellation of the Senior African Championships which were scheduled in Lagos from June 23-27.
“Unfortunately, Nigeria, which pledged to host, has since told us their authorities have not given permission to host such a large-scale competition,” the statement continued.
The cancellation of this event puts the participation of some of the continent’s biggest athletes at the 2020 Olympics in jeopardy. For instance, Caster Semenya had been intending to use the African Championships to qualify in the 5000m.
